Spanish
Santiago.- The Public Ministry in Santiago reported that it has concluded 17 high-impact criminal proceedings, achieving sentences of up to 30 years in prison for crimes such as sexual assault on minors, femicides, human trafficking, and other serious crimes, results that the institution affirmed reflect an effective criminal action based on solid evidence.
The information was provided by the chief prosecutor of the Judicial District of Santiago, Quirsa Abreu Peña, during a meeting with journalists from the judicial source, where she specified that two of the files already have the authority of res judicata, after being resolved through abbreviated criminal procedures, a mechanism that the Prosecutor's Office will continue to use to shorten procedural times without affecting the rigor of the investigations or the strength of the sanctions.
Abreu Peña explained that a considerable part of the cases involves children and adolescents, which has forced the Prosecutor's Office to handle the processes with strict confidentiality, clarifying that the silence in the initial stages responds to the protection of the victims and respect for due process, and not to a lack of action. He indicated that, once the accusation is formalized, the cases become public.
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Among the sentences obtained, the prosecutor highlighted sentences of 20 years in prison against repeat offenders responsible for the sexual violation of an 11-year-old girl in Santiago, as well as another sentence of the same magnitude against a man who sexually abused a minor of 10 years old. She also highlighted a sentence of 20 years imposed on the accomplice in the murder of two young people who were burned, an event that occurred in 2022 in the municipality of Navarrete.
He also reported that the Court of Appeals has ratified several of the sentences, including the Casa Blanca case, whose first-degree conviction was confirmed in all its parts, validating the evidentiary strength and legal coherence of the work carried out by the Public Prosecutor's Office. The magistrate emphasized that crimes with the greatest social impact, such as sexual violence and human trafficking, require concrete results and exemplary sanctions, in order to send a clear message that there is no tolerance or impunity for these crimes. The meeting with the press took place in the auditorium of the Palace of Justice with the aim of strengthening institutional communication, clarifying perceptions about alleged silences of the Prosecutor's Office, and explaining the informational limits during ongoing investigations. "There are stages that must be protected; informing up to, where the law allows, is also part of procedural respect," he pointed out. Abreu Peña recognized the work of the communicators and reiterated the commitment of the Santiago Prosecutor's Office to transparent and responsible communication, emphasizing that public versions only acquire legal value when they are supported by evidence and by technical investigations in accordance with the law.
